The Greatest Gift Of All

 

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

For the first time in a long while, I am almost finished with all of my Christmas shopping.  The past few years, I have found myself at retail stores late at night, battling throngs of last minute Christmas shoppers for scraps of picked over merchandise and I must say that it is quite miserable.

Regardless of trying to find the ‘perfect gifts” for our loved ones, the greatest gift of all has been given to us by God-his Son, Jesus.  Through his gift of Jesus, he also gives each of us the gift of eternal life.  What makes these gifts so wonderful is that we don’t have to work to earn them; they are given to us freely by our loving Father.

All we have to do is simply believe that God has given you his Son and the offer of eternal life with Him.  Once you accept these gifts, no one can ever take them away from you.

What is God calling you to do with your life?  Will you answer his call and follow him in faith, no matter what difficulties or challenges you face?

Don't Go Breaking My Heart

 

..the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."  Matthew 1:20-21

We have heard the "Christmas story" so much that I truly believe we have become almost  desensitized to just how supernatural and miraculous this story is.  I try to put myself into Joseph's shoes and I honestly would have a hard time sticking around if my wife informed me that she was carrying a baby that was not mine.

Joseph secretly planned to divorce Mary until an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and reassured him that the baby was a divine being, both God and human; the Savior of the world.

The Bible doesn't recount much of Joseph's reaction, but it simply states that "when he woke up, Joseph did what the angel of the Lord had commanded and took Mary home as his wife." (Matthew 1:24)

What is God calling you to do with your life?  Will you answer his call and follow him in faith, no matter what difficulties or challenges you face?

I Still Believe (The Great Design)

 

"I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!"  Mark 9:24

The above proclamation of the demon-possessed boy from the Gospel of Mark is something I have incorporated into my prayers quite often.

The attitude of trust and complete confidence that the Bible calls belief or trust is not something that we can obtain without help.  Faith is a gift given to us from God.  No matter how much faith we have, we can never reach a point of self-dependence apart from God-even when things seem to be going our way.

Faith is not something that we can hoard and store away like money in a bank, either.  The process of going our faith is a constant process, one that needs to be renewed daily by renewing our trust in Jesus.

We must stay on our knees, in prayer with God each and every day, during both good times and bad ones.  Not only will we have stronger spiritual lives, but we can do great things in the name of our loving Father!

Stairway To Heaven

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

In all of Jesus’ great teachings during His short time on this earth, the most radical was the above statement from John 14:6.  There are some things that we often try to rationalize, but Jesus clearly stated that the only way to heaven was through Him.  Much like today, the people who heard Jesus speak those words either whole-heartily believed Him or thought He was a mad lunatic.

Regardless if we want to buy our way in, work our way in, or think our way in, the Bible is clear-Jesus Christ is the only way into heaven.  Believing and gratefully accepting this truth is the only way to your most important destination.

Have you been counting on something other than Christ to get you into heaven? This Christmas season, there is no more important gift you can offer someone other than the love of Jesus Christ.  Praise our loving Father!

Pray

The disciples asked Jesus "Why could we not drive it (the demon) out?" He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer." Mark 9:28-29

We all have been given a direct line to communicate with God though prayer.  The disciples would often face difficult situations that could only be resolved through prayer.

It's hard to sometimes grasp the values of God's eternal kingdom, especially when we are facing trials and suffering in our own lives.  Jonah said, "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you Lord" (Jonah 2:7)  We often act the same way.  When life is going well, we tend to take God for granted, but when lose our hope, we cry out to him.  This kind of inconsistent and fair-weathered relationship with God can only result in an inconsistent spiritual life.

We must constantly stay on our knees, in prayer with God each and every day, during both good times and bad ones.  Not only will we have stronger spiritual lives, but we can do great things in the name of our loving Father!

No Compassion

 

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.  Psalm 103:13

As we finished our decorating our home and hung the final strands of lights on the front porch over the weekend, I was eager to see our children’s amazement and fascination with all of the beautiful Christmas lights that now decorate our home.  I also couldn't help but think about the countless number of people who dread the Christmas season and how all of the Christmas lights serve as painful reminders of a difficult home situation, a dispute with a family member, or simply not being able to afford to purchase gifts for loved ones.

God has laid this heavy on my heart and has shown compassion to me by caring for me, providing for me, loving me, and blessing me.  He has forgiven me too many times to recall, and I while I try my best to honor him out of love by fearing him and obeying him, I still continue to come up short.  By his never ending mercy and grace, he continues to love me and forgive me and that is something that will never change.

This Christmas season, there are people all around you who are either hurting or in need.  What better time to show them the same compassion and caring that God has shown us!

Here and Now

She will have a son, and you are you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.  Matthew 1:21

Both of our boys look forward to counting the days down until Christmas on our Advent Calendar.  It has actually become an annual tradition in the Fisher household.  

Just like a child’s eager excitement and wonder about Christmas, we too have a great hope in knowing that we will live forever in heaven with God because of Jesus Christ.

Until our hopes are fulfilled, we must live out the plan that God has laid out for each of our lives, here and now.

We must follow God’s lead so that we don’t go astray and fulfill his great plans, just as Jesus fulfilled God’s plan for Him.